“Savage, brilliant, merciless, and mad as hell.”
— The Financial Times
(U.S.)
INTERNATIONAL RELEASE
What People Are Saying
“a thriller’s bones, a satire’s glare, and a comeuppance story’s anarchic spirit.”
— THE NEW YORKER
“A biting, savage, unflinching story of how the culture of sexual assault is systemically tolerated and tucked out of sight into the dark corners of ivory towers. Part campus satire, part murder mystery, and most importantly a tale of formidable survival, Notes on Surviving the Fire asks: who among us is a perpetrator, and how do we keep on living once we know? Christine Murphy writes with the nimbleness of a hunter: muscularly and with precision, while also propelled by undercurrents of cold, simmering fury and hot, big-hearted empathy.”
— AUBE REY LESCURE,
Author of River East, River West
“Murphy has certainly written a furious, fast-paced, emotionally resonant and memorable novel. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while yet.”
— LA TIMES
“A bold and complex thriller that tackles rape culture and academic bureaucracy with a pinch of Buddhist philosophy . . . Murphy establishes a convincing sense of psychological realism while making salient points about the challenges women face in the aftermath of sexual violence . . . Those in the mood for more challenging fare will be rewarded.
— Publishers weekly
“A wild horse of a plot . . . Fiery on many levels . . . An author to watch.”
— Kirkus reviews
Sarah, a native of Maine, despises southern California; its people, its traffic and poor air quality. She especially hates her lecturing job, hired to supplement the lazy teaching of profs who take all the credit. She has been raped by a fellow academic, suffering severe injury; like others similarly accused, he’s walking freely round campus, the university’s redress procedures being toothless. A rash of sudden deaths of young men looks like vigilante justice and Sarah begins to investigate, with the help of a sympathetic policeman. Like Sarah, author Christine Murphy is a Buddhologist, studying the ethics of violence. Her debut Notes on Surviving the Fire (Wildfire £20) is savage, brilliant, merciless and mad as hell.'
— THE FINANCIAL TIMES
“Murphy’s emotional, riveting suspense novel is sure to stick with readers for a long time.”